#e150

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Teke teke teke

The thing Sur Ferko is repeating is a reference to another urban Japanese cryptid.

You take 1000 Lagrange points worth damage!

"Yeah, sure, whatever Manabu." - Tessa

Majesty of OuTerverSe's summon chant

I had a terrible time trying to parse this. Another strike on the already long list of crimes Otes has committed and can't be forgiven for.

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I still can't believe that the end of Go Rush is near! I wanted to try and get this all out so that people could watch the last episode live with context.

We will be doing a normal release for the final episode. Hope you look forward to it!

In the words of one of the many Japanese tweets I've seen about the end of Go Rush -

Beth perched herself at the kitchen island, grabbing a piece of toast from the plate Joe was dishing up and brushing her hair out of her face in irritation. She was dressed perfectly for her first day back in school except for the mess of brown strands that wouldn't stay behind her ears. Joe glanced at the 8-year-old with an amused expression.

"You want something on that, Lizzy?" He asked, hopeful but not expecting a verbal response. She hadn’t spoken a word in weeks, not since Nora’s death and Henry’s arrest.

Beth took a bite before nodding. Joe opened the fridge and pulled out a couple of jars.

"Alright, we got strawberry jam, grape jelly, apple butter, regular butter," he listed off, setting them in front of her with a butter knife and a spoon. "Any of that sound good?"

Beth's eyes scanned over the jars, her brow furrowing slightly as she tried to decide, before pointing to the strawberry jar. Joe handed her the spoon and jar with a smile before returning to the stove to finish cooking. As Beth spread the strawberry jam on her toast, Barry trudged down the stairs, rubbing his eyes, his hair a mess.

"Morning, Bethy." He greeted with a yawn.

Beth looked up, giving him a small smile before going back to her breakfast. Barry leaned on the counter next to her, looking over her shoulder.

"Can I have a bite?" He teased, reaching for the toast and causing Beth to turn and stick her tongue out in response. Barry laughed and ruffled her hair as he perched himself on the stool next to her.

Beth pushed her hair out of her face again with a frustrated sound before taking another bite of her toast.

"I bet Iris has a headband you could borrow." Joe suggested, plating bacon and pancakes on the island alongside the toast.

Beth shook her head, frowning at her toast for a few moments. "...I want braids."

The kitchen fell silent, Barry and Joe exchanging a look over the counter for several awkward moments before Joe spoke again.

"I'm sure Iris could help you when she gets-"

"No!" Beth whined. "I want braids like Mommy does!" Her eyes filled with tears and she pushed her plate away.

Barry quickly moved to wrap his arms around his little sister and Beth buried her face in his shoulder, soaking his shirt with tears. Joe turned off the burner and set the pan aside before rounding the island and rubbing Beth's back in soothing circles as she sobbed. She shied away, pressing closer to Barry and Joe sighed. He definitely couldn't send either of them to school like this, Beth was obviously not ready to go back.

"Alright, alright." Joe soothed. "Why don't you and Barr go sit on the sofa, I'll bring you both some hot chocolate and pancakes." He stood, ushering the two towards the living room with gentle hands, making a mental note to call the school and tell them the kids wouldn't be in today. If they had a problem with it, they could take it up with him.

Beth sniffled but slowly stopped sobbing as she and Barry sat on the sofa and Joe draped a throw blanket around them. He pulled out his phone and called the school, briefly explaining the situation as he got out another pan for the hot chocolate. He sighed in relief when the principal agreed to give them another day and caught Iris's eye when she emerged from upstairs, gesturing for her to come to the kitchen with him so they could talk.

"Beth's having a rough day." Joe said quietly, pulling Iris close and kissing the top of her head. "She and Barr are staying home again. Do you mind going and sitting with them until I take you to school?" Iris pulled away to give him a nod and he squeezed her shoulder with a smile.

"Do you wanna watch something?" Iris asked as she entered the living room and sat next to Beth, sandwiching her between her and Barry.

Beth scooted closer and leaned her head on Iris's shoulder, nodding, and Iris flipped through the channels, landing on a cartoon that had them all giggling within minutes. Joe brought in the hot chocolate and plates of pancakes and joined them until it was time to take Iris to school.

"You good watching Beth until I get back, Barr?" Joe asked as he and Iris put on their jackets and shoes. "I'll only be gone half an hour, tops."

Barry nodded and Joe smiled at the kids before leading Iris out the door. Once they were gone, Barry turned to Beth, his face clouding with worry.

"Bethy..." He said softly. "Are you okay?"

Beth shook her head and Barry wrapped an arm around her, waiting for her to open up.

"Why did they take Daddy? Daddy could braid my hair like Mommy did, I know he could. He can do everything." Beth said, her voice cracking with emotion.

Barry could see the tears welling in her eyes again and he rubbed her back gently, fidgeting uncomfortably. Nobody had explained it to her yet beyond the initial informing them they were staying with Joe. She'd never asked but Barry thought the grown-ups still should've said something by now.

"They think...they think Dad hurt Mom." Barry said slowly, unable to think of an easier way to tell her. Beth pulled away immediately, wide-eyed.

"But he wouldn't!" Beth protested. "Daddy loves Mommy and Mommy loves Daddy and she'd be so sad if she knew he wasn't here! It's not fair, Barry, it's not!" By the time she was done, she was practically screaming, tears running down her face again, and Barry winced at the noise. He thought frantically for something to comfort her, his eyes landing on the cartoon still playing.

"I know...um...look, Bubbles is braiding Blossom's hair. Want me to try to copy? Maybe I can get close to Mom's braids." Barry offered uncertainly.

Beth wiped her eyes. "...You think you can?"

"I'll try." Barry promised with a smile.

With the cartoon as their guide, Barry did his best to braid Beth's hair in two plaits. It wasn't perfect - actually Barry thought it sucked in all honesty - but the almost-failure made Beth giggle. She seemed to like it and it lifted some of the weight of sadness from her shoulders, at least temporarily.

"Okay?" Barry asked hesitantly as he tied off the second braid. Beth gave him a smile and ran her fingers over them.

Beth fiddled with the pen in her lap idly, staring at the clock as the hands ticked closer to midnight. Just a few minutes. It was silly, she thought, sitting here waiting as though the moment the clock struck midnight, Barry would wake up. He probably wouldn't. No, he definitely wouldn't, she reminded herself. It had been four months with no change and there was no sign of him waking anytime soon. Be reasonable.

She definitely wasn't being reasonable. Sitting around waiting to wish your brother a happy birthday when he wasn't even remotely aware of the passage of time was decidedly unreasonable. But she couldn't help it. It was something they'd done every year since they were small, when they would sneakily stay up together to count the seconds until the clock struck midnight. They'd roped Iris into the tradition too, when they'd moved in with the Wests, and Beth wondered if Iris was awake at home right now, doing the same thing.

"Knock knock." Cisco's voice drifted from the doorway and Beth looked up, shooting him a small, forced smile.

"Hey." She greeted. Cisco crossed the room and pulled up a chair next to her, prompting Beth to finally unfold herself into a more proper sitting position. She gestured vaguely to the clock. "It's, um...his birthday is tomorrow...well, in a few minutes really, so..." She shrugged, trailing off. Cisco nodded.

"Yeah, I know. I was just coming to check on you. Thought you could use some company." He said. Beth's smile softened a little and she reached out to take his hand. He squeezed it gently.

"Thanks. I appreciate it." She said quietly. "I just can't help feeling like...like I should be doing something more."

"More? You've been here every day, I don't think you'd ever leave if you could help it." Cisco said. His tone was light but Beth ducked her head anyway, feeling guilty.

"Yeah, I know. But I keep thinking...maybe if I did something different or tried something else, or-or maybe-"

"Beth." Cisco interrupted before she could spiral. "You couldn't have done anything to change what happened. None of us could." Beth swallowed hard and nodded, squeezing Cisco's hand tighter.

"I know. It's just hard, you know? Seeing him like this...it's not how he's supposed to be. God, I...I wish you'd met him before. He's so smart and funny and brave and kind and I just..." Beth trailed off and Cisco laced their fingers together instead, running his thumb over the backs of Beth's knuckles soothingly.

"Hey, don't think like that. I'll still meet him, whenever he wakes up." He said firmly. Beth sniffled, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I know you will. He's going to love you." She said, sighing softly. "I'm just...he might be a completely different person, if - when - he wakes up. There's so many variables, the lightning could have impaired his memory or personality or-"

"Stop." Cisco interrupted and she looked up, finally meeting his gaze. "Don't do that. Don't think about the unknowns or the what-ifs, okay? Let Caitlin worry about that. You just need to be here for him. And I'll be here for you." He promised, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

Beth leaned over and pressed her lips to his in a chaste kiss, trying to let Cisco's words halt her spiraling thoughts. Her watch beeped, letting her know midnight had finally arrived and she pulled back, resting her head on Cisco's shoulder again and glancing back at Barry, still as ever, on the hospital bed.